The Great Escape
by Hikari1127
Summary: It was a bad idea, really, getting into a car with a reckless driver, a sucky navigator, and an idiot that pukes all over the place because of his motion sickness. But then again, her life was nothing if not weird, and one road trip by Natsu wasn't anything new. She just hoped he remembered cramming them all in a small space would only be trouble. —AU, NaLu
1. the beginning is where we start

**note:** OMG MY FIRST MULTI-CHAPTERED STORY! *throws confetti*  
**note2:** I wanted a summer fic, so this was born.  
**note3:** It's all just pure fluff and randomness.  
**note4:** They might be a little OOC, but _meh_, it's AU.  
**note5:** I think you'll probably if my story is multi-chaptered through the title. Like, I actually properly capitalize multi-chaptered ones.  
**disclaimer:** I think the only things in Fairy Tail remotely related to summer are Natsu's name and the beach pictures Mashima loved to draw.  
**summary:** Lucy gets dragged on one of Natsu's ideas again, and this one happened to take the _whole summer long_.  
**title:** the beginning is where we start

* * *

It wasn't really her fault she didn't land herself a part-time job that summer, leaving her with a crapload of free time and nothing to do on her hands.

It also wasn't her fault she finished all her schoolwork _on time_ that she didn't have to attend summer school (then again, it was her last year of high school, so it wouldn't have been good to go to summer school, but still...).

And it absolutely, positively, _definitely_ wasn't her fault that she found herself, annoyed beyond belief, sitting in the back seat of a family van with a very green boy leaning his head on her shoulder, a very confused—yet still as calm as always—boy flipping a map up and around who somehow managed to lose his shirt in a matter of _5 seconds_, a girl with an iron grip on the wheel and _very_ firm foot on the gas pedal and a gray, cemented highway that seemed to stretch out to unbelievable distances to keep her _company_.

Really, none of this was her fault—and yet she was somehow getting punished for it.

She was, quite literally, strapped in for a very wild ride.

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

**_1_**

**_The Beginning Is Where We Start_**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

A sigh escaped her lips, content, as she snuggled deeper into her comfy cotton blanket, feet finding the cold spot on the sheets. Her body clock told her it was way past the time she would normally wake up, but she merely turned on her side in response.

It was the first day of summer vacation, and she had no other plans besides sleeping the day off.

Having prepared since the night before, the dark, heavy curtains were already pulled tight, allowing absolutely no stream of light to enter the room and dance at her skin. Her alarm clock was de-alarmed, her phone has been in silent mode for the longest of time, and her dad was in an out-of-town business trip, guaranteeing no intrusions on her blissful, blissful sleep time.

(It was well-deserved, of course, after being obedient to the 8-hour sleep for _10 months_.)

Sure, it was pretty boring to start a wonderful summer vacation with sleeping in (but not a very bad idea), but, really, senior year has been one hell of a roller coaster ride and she knew she needed the break. Life has had too much adventure with Nat—

A part of the mattress dipped down.

(Was that just her imagination?)

All thoughts halted in favor of squeezing her eyes shut to get rid of some horrifying possibilities (too much horror movies), and she tried, vehemently, to convince herself it was a dream.

(So much for being alone.)

Hot breath fanned at her face.

All sleepiness left her, and adrenaline freely coursed through her veins, heart beat catching up speed.

(Oh dear god what the hell is going on is this reality why is there someone in my face help meeee!)

It was after a few seconds that her resolve built up enough for her to be able to open her eyes and confirm to herself that it was all a dream.

Big, black eyes stared at her directly, a familiar grin adorning a face practically _centimeters_ away from hers. "Hey, Luce."

She screamed right at the face in a mix of fear and surprise (and she knew that just popped his eardrums, considering his sensitive sense of hearing), almost falling off the edge of her bed had his reflexes not been fast enough to circle an arm around her waist (making her flush—good thing the room was dark). "Whoa, Lucy, I got you."

Willing the blush to go _the heck away_, she screeched her complaint. "OH MY GOD NATSU, what the _hell_ are you doing here?" A thought came to her, and her mouth gaped open, mortified. "How did you even get inside?!"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Psh, there's a _window_ for a reason." Before she could yell the usual 'Use the door, you idiot!', he cut her off when he said, "Oh, I already packed your bags for you."

Following his jabbed thumb, she found herself looking at her open black luggage with clothes carelessly thrown into, a multicolor of sleeves spilling at the edges (she even thought she saw her pink, lacy unmentionables somewhere in there, and she wondered how Natsu could've put them there with a straight face—then again, this was Natsu she was talking about, and there was no ounce of perversion nor shame in his hot-blooded body).

Her hazy, half-asleep mind processed the thought a little too slow just as Natsu released her and made to get up. Coming to realization was like being doused with cold water from head to toe—sharp and start-inducing. She sat up almost immediately. "Wait, what?" she asked, now looking at the pink-haired boy starting to rummage through her closet for God knows what with raised eyebrows. "_What_ would you need to pack my clothes for?"

The signature toothy grin filled the bottom half of his face, and she knew she was in for trouble.

"I've decided to go on a road trip," he said, throwing her favorite top-and-skirt combination on a spot on the bed near her, "and _you're_ coming with me."

Giving her no means of escape, he pushed her into the bathroom and held it close from his side of the door. Out of choices, she just complied, knowing there was no running away from a very persistent Natsu. The disappointed sigh came out of her lips with the visible slumping of her shoulders.

So much for a normal summer.

* * *

She should've expected it, really. Natsu was as bright as the sun, and summer was obviously the peak of all his energy. Hell, it was his _name_.

"Alright, Natsu," she started, looking down at the nauseous boy with narrowed, irritated eyes, "what am I doing sitting my ass on this chair for?"

Through lidded eyes, he met her stare and smiled crookedly. "It's a bonding experience."

She snorted. "Right." She turned towards the two people at the front. "What are you doing here, Erza?"

The redhead didn't even take her eyes off the road nor blink as she said, "Natsu promised me cake."

Somehow, that didn't surprise her. "And you, Gray?"

Gray crossed his arms over his chest, glaring ahead slightly. "The idiot blackmailed me." There was almost a pout in his voice.

Well, that didn't surprise her either. "Figures. I doubt you two will ever go willingly." She wouldn't either (actually, maybe), but like she had a choice.

Beside her, Natsu mustered as much indignation as he can to shoot each of them a dirty look (Erza secretly, of course), but it wasn't as effective as when his face wasn't green and his cheeks weren't puffed out like balloons. "You—you assholes," he muttered, and whether the others in the vehicle heard it or not, they gave no indication. "I even...filled the gas tank...of my baby...for this trip..." Another wave of motion sickness hit him.

"How someone with motion sickness has a car, I will never know," Gray said with a roll of his eyes.

"I-I don't get motion sickness when _I_'m the driver," the boy said, "but with the way Erza's driving..."

Suddenly, the car lurched forward, and the passengers sank into the chairs with the change of speed. "What's wrong with my driving?" Erza looked back at them and asked, having instinctively stepped on the gas pedal a _little_ too hard with the remark.

In between attempts of holding back a scream, she answered with a pitchy, feeble voice. "Nothing, Erza!" Oh god, good thing there were no cars in front of them to crash into—the part of the highway was practically empty. "Absolutely nothing!"

"So—just continue to do whatever you were doing before!" Gray was holding onto the handle above his head with a whitening grip. "Don't listen to that idiot!" Natsu seemed too apologetic to retort (or too sick to even speak).

The car slowed back to their original speed—still faster than normal, but a great relief from that deadly hundred-something miles per hour they were going just a moment ago. She was pretty sure that, somewhere between the frozen screams and the _I don't want to die_'s stuck in her throat, she saw her life flash before her eyes.

The cause of their near-death experience buried his head deeper into the corner where her shoulder and neck met. "F-from now on...I will not say anything...about Erza's driving."

The glare was automatic. "I'd like to come back home in one piece, _thank you very much_."

Home. Home. The word seemed to replay in her head for some reason, like it was ringing some bell, and she didn't even hear Natsu's weak response. Home. Home. Home—

"Oh. My. _God_." With much panic, she whipped her phone out of her pocket and stared at the time. The sun was already beginning to set, and the numbers on her phone displayed 7:38. Despite being bright out, it was already night. "I am _so_ dead."

This got the attention of everyone in the car. "What?" was Gray's intelligible reply.

"My dad is coming home early tomorrow morning and he's not gonna see anyone there." Her brown eyes were sharp. "And where am I? _Hundreds of miles away from home_." Her head fell on the back of her chair, letting out a long, dragging sigh. "I am _so_ gonna get grounded for life."

Natsu's head perked up, all sickness miraculously gone from his face. "So all I'm hearing is that you're gonna get in trouble anyway."

She gave him a deadpan stare. "No, I'm going home before he _ever_ finds out I was gone."

Natsu's smirk was devious, almost challenging. "Like hell I'd let you."

The tension in the car grew thick. "You're not the one holding the wheel." She turned to their redhead driver. "Erza, turn the car back. I'm going home."

The pink-haired boy stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "No, Erza! You're not getting the cake if Lucy goes home!"

"I could give you more cake, Erza! Turn back!"

"Have I mentioned I'll add a discount coupon for that costume shop at the mall?"

"I could get you _so_ much more, Erza."

Victory was achieved by her, but before Erza could turn the car back and towards her home, Natsu leaned forward and stared at Erza. _Really_ stared. He whispered something only the two at the front could hear.

And then something weird happened.

Erza actually listened to Natsu and turned the wheel sharply to the right, barely managing to make the exit.

The tangy taste in her tongue tasted like defeat.

"Yes! Thanks, Erza, I owe you one!" Natsu leaned back on the car seat and resumed like nothing happened. He even had the _gall_ to return to his head's place on her shoulder (for some reason, she didn't shrug it off).

When she looked at Gray for help, the boy only shrugged and smirked.

"It's gonna be worth it. Believe me," Natsu mumbled from beside her.

Oh, great. She was supposed to be at home. Everyone was against her on this trip. She's gonna be grounded for life. It was all Natsu's fault. Her dad is gonna freak. She was miles and miles away from home.

And she found herself looking forward to where this trip would take them.

Really, it couldn't get any crazier than this.

* * *

**note:** So, what do you think?  
**note2:** This is so random I don't even know.  
**note3:** Yeah, don't question me about Natsu's motion sickness. Everything doesn't make sense as it already is.


	2. a brainchild is born

**note:** I finally decided to update *cheers*  
**note2:** I was actually planning on putting this chapter up _after _I finished writing Chapter 3, but I figured it was taking too long, so I'll leave it up to the fates on when I'll update.  
**note3:** Chapter 3 is longer than this, I swear. Hell, I'm still _writing_ it—and, well, I procrastinate too much.  
**note4:** Thank you to those who put this story in their Favourites/Alerts list and to those who reviewed (LuckyLifeSmile, Nardragon, KTrevo, GoldenRoseTanya, Captain Ea Rayos, Lucy Ashley from Fairy Tail, Miho, Mimichan55, Minallys and greetingsfrommaars)! You all get virtual cookies!  
**disclaimer:** Does Mashima-san spend the entirety of his day watching animes he liked in his childhood and looking for PLL episode links? Didn't think so.  
**summary:** Lucy gets dragged on one of Natsu's ideas again, and this one happened to take the _whole summer long_.  
**title:** a brainchild is born

* * *

"I don't want to sleep with you."

Natsu, with a stubborn crease in between his eyebrows, defiantly crossed his arms over his chest and stared his opponent down—and if that opponent was anyone normal, they would've run away by then—but Gray was just as stubborn, just as childish, that he matched Natsu's glare with one of his own, icy and unrelenting. She suddenly didn't want herself caught in a small room with the two quarreling boys and nothing in between.

"The feeling is mutual, Flame-Brain," Gray said, sticking his chin in the air.

"I'd rather sleep in the car."

"No one's stopping you."

"Your _face_ is stopping me!"

"That doesn't even make sense."

Her sigh momentarily broke them apart from their imminent fistfight, drawing their undivided attention to her. "You know, both of you are lucky Erza's in the bathroom right now, or you'll _both_ sleep in the car and _no one_ would stop you."

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

_**2**_

_**A Brainchild Is Born**_

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

She should've expected that this would happen the second they were out the car. After they rashly took the exit—which, apparently, led them to the dainty town of Shirotsume—they suddenly realized how late it was, lost in the Natsu-maybe-vomiting to Erza-going-way-over-the-speed-limit, and agreed to check in at the next inn (really, that was _just_ great—it was just how they ended up at this town in first place). As it turned out, she was supposed to be the financier of the group, but after she profusely refused and made Natsu realize that her father tracking her through credit card would cut the trip short, he very much just obliged to pull out what she thought was his credit card and swiped it with vigor—that is, until she saw the unmistakable glint in his eyes, which could only be distinguished as mischief, and his finger punching in a 4-number pin like he knew it as well as the back of his hand (and Natsu _never_ managed to remember anything with numbers). The next conversation sort of went something like this:

_"That's Gray's card, isn't it."_

_"Yep. The bastard never did notice whenever I took his credit card until he saw the billing statement."_

_"That's sneaky, even for you, Natsu."_

_"I try, Lucy. I try."_

At least he was wise enough to just get one room.

"Fine. I'll sleep with Lucy."

Or maybe not so wise.

"What?!" she screeched, feeling intense heat creeping up to her face as not-so-innocent implications filled her thoughts.

Natsu's cute, confused pout didn't help at all. "But we always sleep together."

As she was about to discourage the notion—how exactly, she didn't know—Gray just _had_ to fuel the fire and make it grow. "Huh, interesting," he said, an amused smirk curving his lips, "I never knew you guys were like that."

"No!" she exclaimed immediately before Natsu could even think of commenting something that would only add onto the already-awkward situation. "It's not how it sounds like!"

"Riiiggghhhtttt." Gray rolled his eyes, but seemed to let it go in favor of deciding which surface to rest on for the night. "Anyways, I'll sleep—" He stopped abruptly. 2 girls, 2 beds. That seemed to click in his mind. Of course, as _cool_ and sometimes aloof as he was, Gray still prided himself in being a gentleman.

Plus, he seemed to know she deserved a bed, and Erza had pretty much claimed the other (he'd rather not step on _that_ territory)—and they could both very well beat him had he tried resisting this chivalrous action. He deflated. "—on the couch..."

"Why not sleep with me, Gray?" They all stiffened at the voice, and the unlucky boy mechanically turned his head towards the newly-emerged Erza, raising shaky eyebrows. "We always did that when we were young."

She briefly mused at the fact that she had never seen Gray shake his head so fast it looked like his neck would break. "No!" He held his arms out in front of him in a protective stance, slowly inching back towards the brown furniture. "I'll sleep on the damn couch!"

Erza shrugged, as if to say _suit yourself_, and Natsu used the opportunity to dangle his _win_ in front of poor Gray. "Ha! You get the couch while I sleep on the bed!"

She whirled on him just as fast, but the red painting her cheeks sort of gave her fluster away. "We've never decided on that!"

The boy looked like he was about to start begging her (and inwardly, she hoped he wouldn't, because she knew she wouldn't be able to refuse him that way). "But Luuucccyyyy!" he whined. "I already told Gray I would! I can't take it back or he'll be sure to tease me about it!" Said boy snorted in response. "And it's not like it's anything new! We sleep together almost every weekend!"

There was a sputter behind them, and a certain redhead was already stuttering words out with a heavy blush the same color as her hair. "S-s-sleep t-together?"

"Stop, Erza." Sometimes her friends could be dirty-minded, and Natsu being dense to all the double entendre behind his words never made the situation better. "Please bring your mind out of the gutter and don't even _go_there. I should really confiscate your novels."

Gray let out a snicker, and her intense stare zeroed in on him. "You can't laugh at this. You're not much more innocent than Erza." That shut him up.

"Fine, I'll just sleep in the car," Natsu muttered dejectedly, and she couldn't bear looking at him without giving in to the puppy-dog eyes he would surely have. "Only my baby wants me anyway."

Oh god, he pulled the Car card on her. "No, Natsu, stay," she found herself saying, taking hold of his wrist, then averted her gaze as the pink painted her cheeks. "A-and you can sleep with me on the bed."

Natsu beamed visibly and engulfed her in a hug. "Awww, thanks, Luce! I l—!"

"As amusing and disgusting as seeing you guys flirt subconsciously with each other is," Gray's voice pierced right through them and the was-brewing atmosphere, "I think we should discuss what to do next because I honestly have no idea."

Now faced with an issue, she completely forgot all about what good thing she was about to do with Natsu, and she glared at him instead. The glare intensified when the pink-haired boy merely laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed gesture. "Umm, ah, see..." he fumbled, "I—I don't know either."

"No, you're kidding, right?" She was sure the boy would cower if he could. "Natsu, you drag us on a road trip, and you have no concrete plan?!"

He gave her a shaky smile, and she would've thought he was scared—of _her_. "The greatest adventures are always the unplanned ones?"

As she was about to explode on him, Gray luckily came to his rescue. "Okay, I know our lives would be much, _much_ better off without Flame-Brain," Natsu, of course, took offense in the remark, "but I would admit that I kinda like this road trip, and, unlike him, I actually thought of something. Like, just a few seconds ago."

He took the map from his backpack, unfolded it and laid it out in front of him on the floor. They all sat around it. "But this map is blank," Erza remarked with a deadpan stare.

Gray looked like he was about to say something sarcastic in return, but wisely kept it to himself. "That's kind of the idea." He received equally confused expressions. "Okay, we each pick two activities we really want to do during the summer—and they can't be anything boring—and we go through with them. _All of us_. No contest."

"That's not half-bad, actually," she said, mulling over the idea in her head. "I mean, I'm getting in trouble for this. Why not make it worthwhile, right?"

"I guess it would be enjoyable," Erza said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I don't really want to take suggestions from Stripper," the boys both glared at each other for a short moment, until Natsu shrugged, "but I would admit it's a great idea. I'm in!"

"Then it's settled." Gray smirked, feeling proud of himself. "We start tomorrow."

* * *

"Hey, Luce?"

Natsu's soft, hesitant whisper chased away the sleep that started to pull at her, and she turned on her back to acknowledge him. "Yes, Natsu?"

"I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened. "What? Why?"

Silence enveloped them like the blanket they shared. Neither of them moved an inch, only heard the synchronized breaths of their two other companions. When she started losing interest in what his response was going to be (and possibly falling asleep), she suddenly felt fingers at her side, and she resisted the urge to laugh because _Natsu was tickling her_. "Natsu, s—stop!" she managed to say between barely-suppressed giggles.

Gray hissed at them from the couch. "Would you two quiet it down or _get a room_?"

Natsu glared at him through the darkness. "This _is_ our room. Shut up, Ice Princess."

Gray grumbled, but didn't complain any further.

Her chest heaved with deep breaths and a smile was frozen on her face. "God, Natsu, seriously, you always do that when I let you sleep with me."

She could see his grin despite the room being dark. "But I know you enjoy it," he said, knowing.

Instead of answering, she just wrapped her arms around him and basked in his warmth. If Gray saw them now, he would, no doubt, tease them about it, but she told herself it was just what they did. Sure, best friends probably don't sleep in the same bed and embrace each other shamelessly while they do, but it's just them. Somehow it worked out.

She decided to forget about his apology, dismissing it as her imagination in her hazy state (or for suddenly tickling her, the voice said, but she was too sleepy to care). Natsu always did help her fall asleep.

* * *

**note:** And so, a plot appears! Well, a sort of plot.  
**note2:** And we got some NaLu fluff! Yay!  
**note3:** Okay, I know this chapter's short but—okay, I don't have anything to defend myself against that.  
**note4:** So, what did you think of Gray's plan? Or the NaLu fluffiness? Or, hell, even Erza's lack of embarrassment on her sleeping arrangements! Just put it in the box below there.  
**note5:** Until next chapter!


	3. the concert experience

**note:** I'm such a bad author. I kept all you wonderful people waiting!  
**note2:** I actually finished this chapter days back. I was just lazy to update (_pleasedon'tkillme_).  
**note3:** And the first activity starts.  
**note4:** Awww, it's NaLu Week and I can't participate! Sad.  
**note5:** Thank you to those who put this in their Favourites/Alerts list and those who reviewed (KTrevo, GoldenRoseTanya, ladyAlyafaelyn, Mimichan55, Nardragon, Minallys, LinkLover123, greetingsfrommaars, Lucy Ashley from Fairy Tail and Miho)!  
**note6:** Let's pretend I know my shit about highway systems and phone numbers. For story purposes, phone numbers are only 7 digits XD  
**note7:** Erza might come off a little OOC, but, in my defense, she's a modern teenage girl who has feelings.  
**disclaimer:** 3 chapters in one week? Whoa, that's definitely not something I can do (as you can clearly see, I can barely do 1 chapter per week).  
**summary:** Lucy gets dragged on one of Natsu's ideas again, and this one happened to take the _whole summer long_.  
**title:** the concert experience

* * *

_"Wait, Gray, we never actually established the order. Who'll go first?"_

_"Isn't it obvious? I will. __**I**__ was the one who came up with the idea."_

_"I supported it, I should go first!"_

_"We __**all**__ supported it, Natsu. If there's someone who has the right to choose first, it's me. I'm getting punished for this!"_

_"No, __**I**__'m going first. I'm the driver. Those who object can walk on their own."_

_"But isn't this my ca—"_

_"Did you say something, Natsu? I can drop you off right here at the side of the road if you want."_

_"I-I said that I was an idiot. Of c-course you'll go first, Erza. __**Please don't kill me**__."_

_"That's what I thought."_

_"So, um, Erza, what's your activity going to be?"_

_"Two words: Trimens concert."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

**_3_  
**

**_The Concert Experience_**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hmmm... I spy with my little eye something that is gra—"

"The _road_," Gray said irritably.

"Okay, okay. I spy with my little eye something that is whi—"

"The clouds," Erza said in her usual firm monotone.

"Another one! I spy with my little eye something that is blu—"

Gray turned to him in a flash. "The sky! Can you stop with the 'I Spy', Natsu?!"

She felt a sigh coming in again. Whenever Natsu was bored, he tended to irritate others around him with his antics. Somehow that gave him pleasure.

And now, he wanted to play car games. She regretted a little that they gave him a pill for his motion sickness earlier that day.

"Are we there yet?" she asked, desperate to get out of the car as soon as possible before she was driven insane.

"How far away are we from Crocus, Gray?" Their driver took her eyes off the road for a brief moment to spare their designated navigator a glance.

"Uhhh...ummm...let me check." Gray spread the map and searched for the capital city. "Okay, so Crocus is right here," he mumbled to himself, pointing to a mass of land on the map, "and if I'm correct, we're supposed to be in Highway 406, right—"

"Oh, oh! I have another game!" Natsu bounced in his seat, canines showing from his grin. "I'm thinking of an animal—"

"Dragon!" she exclaimed at him, annoyed, before returning her attention to Gray. "Okay, what do we take next?"

The boy hummed in thought. "As long as we take Exit 408, we should be fine. It's straight ahead from there—maybe, I'm not really good with maps."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Then why are you the _navigator_?"

"Because it's either me or Flame-Brain. Your choice. And besides—"

"I spy with my little eye something that is—"

Frighteningly in sync, she and Gray stopped their quarrel to shoot glares at Natsu. "Quit it!"

But Natsu merely smirked in return, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "—Exit 408."

Eyes widening in realization, everyone else in the car swiveled their gazes to the front (well, except Erza, who was already facing the front), and watched as Exit 408's sign passed by them and well behind their backs, shrinking with the increasing distance between them. There was silence in the car—a rare feat in itself—until the thought sank in and chaos ensued.

"Erza, why didn't you take the exit?!"

"Because Gray didn't remind me! I thought I was supposed to go straight ahead!"

"Well, if Natsu knew, then why didn't he tell us sooner?!"

"You and Lucy told me to shut up!"

"Okay, okay," she took a deep breath to calm herself, "Let's not point fingers—even though I still doubt Gray's sense of direction and Natsu's ability to know _when to shut up_—but instead, we should learn from this mistake." Looking around the car, she pinned them all a hard stare, as if threatening them to understand and reflect on their failure, bringing them the consequences they have now (except Erza—Erza was always exempted).

"Good. Now, Erza, please focus on the road and take the next exit. We'll turn around through there." She paused, but considered adding something as an afterthought. "And for the remainder of the trip to Crocus, Natsu's on timeout. No car games."

"But what'll I do during that time?" the boy asked her, pouting.

"You can try _sleeping_ like the rest of us had been trying to do."

Natsu's expression turned irritated in a span of seconds. "I wasn't talking to you, Ice Princess," he said, glaring, but it disappeared and his face melted into a smile again (it was kind of freaky how fast his expressions could change), "but I wouldn't mind if _Lucy_ would let me sleep on her lap."

The damn blush was coming again and _no, she refused to be flustered_. "... I think we should just play car games."

"Oh, _hell_ no," Gray rolled his eyes with the crossing of his arms in front of his chest, "I need my peace. I'd rather only Lucy suffer than all of us." She made a sound of protest, but the boy ignored her. "C'mon Lucy, just agree to that idiot. It's not like you haven't done anything more than that—" she exclaimed her disagreement but it seemed that Gray wasn't finished, "You slept on the same bed last night! Natsu sleeping on your lap shouldn't be anything new. Although..." she received a teasing smirk, "don't get naked or anything like that."

The color her face turned to was a shade even redder than Erza's hair, if that was even possible. God, wha—what the hell was that?!

Weirdly, Natsu remained cool and calm through the not-so-appropriate discussion, and just as coyly said to Gray, "I think you're already ahead of us, Stripper."

And when Gray looked down at his body, his shirt was already nowhere to be found.

"Why the hell does this keep happening?!"

* * *

When they arrived at the venue, the sky was still blue, but since it was summer, she would've guessed it was later than it looked. Her phone's time told her it was near 7pm.

After Erza parked the car in the shortest time possible (she didn't want to go into detail, but it involved drifts and almost scratching the car from fighting for a spot), they ran towards the still-open ticketing booth. From the looks of it, they were still selling last-minute tickets. The line was now short, minutes away from the concert.

They didn't have much problems early on, because Erza got her ticket first (it _was_ her activity after all), she also got a ticket, and so did Gray—until it was Natsu's turn and the lady behind the glass booth hung up a big 'Sold Out' sign, the sounds of disappointment and a crowd of crying fangirls following it. Natsu almost joined them as they waited outside to discuss their issue.

"So, we only have three tickets, and Erza's is separated from the other two," she said, pursing her lips in thought.

"My ticket isn't really a problem," Erza said, shrugging. "I'm okay with being separated."

"But what about meeee?" Natsu clung to her arm, face scrunched in an expression that was a mix of disappointment and a little bit of pleading.

"You can wait out here." Gray gave him an effortless smirk that only served to provoke the other boy.

"That's unfair! I wanna sit beside Lucy in the concert!" Natsu's glare intensified, and it was as if actual daggers could be shot out of it from the heavy indignation it contained.

Before Erza could intervene, though, Natsu muttered something to Gray, but they were far enough that she couldn't hear a word. It was only a matter of time before Gray seemed to concede and gave Natsu the ticket, something she openly gaped at, incredulous. What was with Natsu getting his way with Erza and Gray? That never happened before! Why was it happening now?

As she started to dwell on the thought, Natsu's kilowatt grin filled her vision, and his hand was already pulling her to the entrance. When she looked back at Gray questioningly from the distance, he held a smirk on his face and gave her a two-finger salute, as if he actually _accepted_ the fact that Natsu got away scot-free from taking his ticket.

Sometimes she thought she was the only one who didn't know what the hell was happening, completely thrown off the loop and kept in the dark about this road trip.

She decided to put off thinking about it for later, knowing the concert would only get spoiled if she focused on the thought too deeply through it.

* * *

It was rare for Erza to freely express what she had been feeling through her body language. Always making sure to keep everything locked inside her chest and _only_ there for her to feel, her emotions were guarded with an armor-like barrier, one that anyone has yet to crack (her closest friends were denting it, and she didn't mind).

But, right at that moment, she found that she didn't care if she was swaying a bit too much or waving her head a little too wildly than normal to the beat of the Trimens' pop rock music. Maybe being alone contributed to this freedom—

"Interesting."

With the speaking of the deep voice, all of her movements abruptly came to a halt. Almost feeling embarrassment and apprehension (almost, because she was who she was and she rarely felt those), she turned her head to the direction of the voice, and found that it was the person she was sitting beside with—a blue-haired man who, she would admit to herself, was kind of handsome that she felt the red creeping to her cheeks. There was a weird tattoo at one side of his face that only made her slightly curious and utterly intrigued. "I've been staring at you since the beginning of the concert and you haven't squealed even _once_ like most of the girls here."

It took her a while to get over this man's presence and the mild blush of demureness at the admittance of him _staring_ at her for more or less half an hour, but when she did, she regained her ever-so-cool-and-slightly-smug composure and gave him an amused smirk. "Well, unlike them, I actually came here because of the music."

The man raised his eyebrows at her, a smile curving his lips, before he offered an outstretched hand to her. "I'm Jellal, and you are?"

She took it in hers and squeezed, face melting into a small smile. "Erza. Erza Scarlet."

She had a feeling she was getting more from this concert than she paid for.

* * *

Natsu winced when a high-pitched squeal entered his sensitive ears. "Hibiki! Oh, my gosh!"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he gazed at the girl beside him, eyes so wide he could almost see the heart shapes in them, body squirming in overwhelming feelings of _feelings_ and mouth saying nothing but adoration. He winced again when she screamed. "You guys are so cute!"

He shoved his hands in his pockets, sulking. Why was he even here anyway? The music was too loud, people all around him were yelling their hearts out and he didn't even like this band's songs. Who even picked this activity? He wanted to kill—

Okay, whoa there.

It suddenly came flooding back to him that _Erza_ chose to go to this concert, and he can't very well kill her. A shudder crawled through his skin at the thought of Erza somehow reading his mind. No, he didn't want to kill Erza, he passed the thought just to be sure if she was (because Erza could be really freaky and it wouldn't be surprising if she can—he took it back just in case).

"Natsu, isn't this great?" Lucy's voice said over the loud noise of the crowd. "The lead singer's totally cute!"

He grumbled. "Yeah, great."

Before the concert, the thought of sitting next to Lucy had been very appealing to him, but now that she was checking out other boys—the image made him frown. Maybe—

"Ooh, Natsu! I love this song!" And as his train of thought escaped his mind altogether, he felt her grab his hand and dance him to the rhythm, bringing a small grin to his face.

Maybe he could actually survive this.

Lucy was right there beside him, looking like she was having the time of her life, and that was enough.

Now, if only he could make it through the concert without smashing one of the pretty boys' faces down there.

* * *

Gray leaned his back on the car door, simply because there was nothing left to do.

Turning his gaze to the venue entrance, he thought passively that he didn't even want in anyway. He couldn't exactly resist Natsu either (no, it wasn't what you thought—he didn't have a damn soft spot for that idiot), knowing that—

His stomach made a loud, rumbling sound.

Well, he hasn't eaten dinner yet. Good thing he wasn't inside or he wouldn't have been able to go out to grab a bite. With a new goal in mind, he started his walk towards the nearest fast food chain for some greasy meal he already had pictured in his head.

Wait.

He stopped.

He felt for something in his pockets, and, after a while of looking like an idiot, dropped his hands to his sides.

He knew it.

His credit card was missing.

_Damn it, Natsu!_ he screamed inwardly, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

He should've _known_ something was weird the moment Natsu seemed willing to spend money on something like a _concert_. He'd bet Lucy was in it, too, buying _his_ ticket with _his_ credit card. And to think Natsu got in for _free_. The moment that Flame-Brain came out of there, he would—

A tune of _Ice, Ice Baby_ filled the air around him and he immediately fished his phone out of his pocket to answer, regardless of whatever call it was and whoever it was from just so _his phone would shut up, dammit!_. Briefly noticing the unregistered number and not giving a shit about it, he pressed the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

And as soon as he recognized the low, deep, _freaking intimidating_ voice through the device, he felt every muscle in his body tense and suddenly had the strongest urge to drop the call—

"Hello, Gray. Do you know where Lucy could be?"

—because, right on the other end of the line, was Mr. Heartfilia.

* * *

After being separated by the crowd at the end of the concert, Erza tried not to get too bothered. They were supposed to part sometime, after all, and they just had a mere similarity in taste of music between them to count, so the thought kept her from getting a bit disappointed. Determined to just meet with her friends and hightail out of the city (and, you know, forget the past 2 or 3 hours of her life and file Jellal somewhere at the back of her mind as a distant, one-time memory), her body snapped into alertness when an arm yanked her from the crowd and into an empty hallway, and, before she could stop herself, a decade of Kendo kicked in and she was hitting her captor with a blunt, forgotten pipe with frightening force and accuracy like she was swinging a sword.

The _ouch_ brought her back to reality because it sounded closely similar to the voice she'd heard in songs.

"Ichiya, I should get something more from this!"

She blinked once. Twice—and the man still hasn't left her vision. She added two more people and pieced together that _her favorite band was standing right in front of her_. A squeal would've weaseled its way out of her lips if she wasn't Erza, the ever-stoic. Instead, she kept her excitement under wraps and smiled a little wider than she normally would. "To what do I owe this pleasure of meeting my favorite band in person?"

Each member of the Trimens seemed amused at her display of not-squealing-and-fawning-like-she-should, their eyes crinkling ever so slightly, but another presence came to disrupt the peace around them. "My honey!" An odd short man with orange hair flung himself at her, weird sparkles following him as he did so, and only well-practiced speed let her evade the onslaught. She eyed him warily.

The man picked himself off the ground and renewed his attempts with more fervor. "You have the sweetest perfume I have ever smelled!" An unbidden shiver ran down her spine because what was utterly creepy about the remark was that _she didn't wear any perfume so what was this guy smelling?_ She banished the question when it became too much.

The man knelt in front of her (well, it was hard to tell from his height), and he looked up at her and winked. _Winked_. It was a good thing she didn't eat any dinner or it would've been making its way up her throat by now. She looked at the Trimens for help, but they only gave her helpless glances and shrugged uncomfortably. "Our manager can be pretty persistent," Eve told her, and she assumed it was supposed to comfort her or something.

It didn't, and she thought that she'd rather not meet her favorite band in person if it meant this weird man was in the package.

Who obviously liked her.

In a creepy way.

It almost took all of her self-control not to bolt away.

Instead, she stayed rooted to her spot. Rooted and uncomfortable.

She wouldn't even notice his arrival had she not felt a warm hand at the curve of her waist or heard the familiar baritone that spoke, "Is this short man bothering you, _honey_?"

Caught off-guard, she raised her head in an attempt to meet Jellal's, most likely, smoldering gaze. "Ummm..." was the only sound her mouth could work to make, and _Erza Scarlet has never been left speechless before_.

Jellal only continued to stare the weird man down, and if she let her hopes get the best of her (which she never does), she would've thought there was feral possessiveness in his gaze (but that would've been weird for this barely-stranger-barely-friend to feel that for her, right? _Too soon_, a voice in her head said, _much too soon_, so she was most likely delusional). "Sorry, Mr. Manager," he said with mock politeness, "but I'm afraid you're gonna have to **back off** because she's _taken_."

Before any of the others could even move to stop them, Jellal wisely steered her away from the Trimens and their manager—who now seemed to be wailing on the floor for her—and led her to the outside for some well-deserved breath of fresh, chilly night air.

* * *

It wasn't until she had taken her first step on the pavement that she got the courage to talk to the man closely walking beside her (and that, in itself, was a wonder, because she _always_ had courage but seemed to lose it all at a word from this man—was this attraction like those in her romance novels?). She swallowed all thoughts not-too-clean and shoved them back to where they resided in her mind—at the deep, dark recesses of her head, hidden and closeted from everyone—and put on her coolest mask. "Thanks, Jellal," she said with an almost straight face except for a smile that broke through her exterior. "I don't know what would've happened if you haven't intervened."

Jellal gave her a knee-weakening smirk (a man that nearly brought her to her knees? Impossible!). "Well, it was fun playing 'boyfriend' with you. Maybe we could—"

"Erza!"

The voice of a friend cut through the maybe-we-could that made its way through Jellal's lips (and, though she wouldn't admit, had her anticipating the next words left hanging) and a shirtless Gray ran to them in a breathless rush. She was ready to chastise his lack of clothing when she noticed Jellal's curious, intense gaze on him. Oh, don't tell her he thought—

"... He's not my boyfriend."

There was an awkward silence after that where the three of them just stared at each other with a weird look on their faces, until Gray seemed to snap out of it first, as if remembering the urgency that required him to fetch her so quickly. "Look, I'm sorry I'm interrupting your rare flirting," he received a glare with that, "but we seriously _have to go_!"

He pulled her wrist and she barely managed to get a word out. "W—wait!" She had some unfinished business and she didn't know if she'll ever have the chance to tie loose ends so _she can't leave yet_! She could break his grip on her wrist with little to no problem, but she figured he was trying very hard to pull her back—so it must've been something important. But Jellal—

Jellal looked at her with a little bit of disappointment but also with an expression that said he understood. He waved at her in a manner that told her it wasn't goodbye. "6-2-3-1-5-4-2!"

The smirk was automatic on her face. "Got it."

And she didn't even protest when Gray threw her in the passenger seat _not too gently_ (which she would totally hit him later for) and got in the driver's seat just as fast (she would let him off the hook this time for taking over her position) before he drove off panicking, the sound of burnt rubber and the sight of a blue mop of hair following their car into the night road.

* * *

No questions were asked as to why Erza had a weird smile on her face that wasn't there too often—for fear that it might ruin her obvious good mood and provoke her to go berserk on them—and the car was too small for a place to hide in from her wrath.

* * *

**note:** This chapter is so Jerza-centric I can just feel it overwhelm me. There's also a little NaLu mixed in (duh, I can't not include that).  
**note2:** And uh-oh, looks like Mr. Heartfilia's onto them.  
**note3:** So, what do you guys think? Share your thoughts!


End file.
